Wireless Broadband

Freemo

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May 26, 2003
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A friend of mine is interested in buying a house on the North Coast after drooling over some of the properties on the Juanperdomo website.

Broadband internet is a must have for him, what is the situation with availability along the North coast?

Is 'wireless' broadband an option?

Does anyyone have any info?

Cheers

Paul
 

Freemo

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May 26, 2003
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No definate area as yet

DSL (broadband) up to 1.5MB is readily available on the north coast. What area is he looking at?

Paul, tell him to go drool over some properties at the DR1 Property Center :)

http://www.dr1.com/realestate/index.shtml

HaHa

Thanks Robert I'll point him in that direction also never fear. He's a South African, he's loves the self-sufficient life-style and has lived in some areas that make the DR seem like a kindergarden, no exageration, I've explained the expat set-up and how DR1 gives the lowdown of exactly what to expect from life there but he has some stories to tell regarding dangerous places to live that would make your hair curl. When you have lived among an indigenous population of 11 major tribes, all who hate each other, you become very good at being careful.

Anyway, he's looking for a plot of between .25 and an acre, 3 bedrooms, very near the beach. Somewhere he can park the boat and go fishing most days. He's not in a position to jump at the first opportunity anyway, but isn't a long way from it timewise. His eldest son is on the verge of flying the nest and as soon as he does its time to pack up and head for sunnier shores.

He hadn't even considered the Carribean area until I trapped him in my offfice and gave him my usual 'DR presentation' - he was quite literally stunned by some of the properties and their locations, and of course the prices. I think the phrase he used most was 'but that's only ?xxx,000 British pounds isn't it?.'

Some of the areas that appealed to him were, Cabrera, Sosua, Cabarete.

Cheers
Paul
 

Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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He's a South African, he's loves the self-sufficient life-style and has lived in some areas that make the DR seem like a kindergarden, no exageration, I've explained the expat set-up and how DR1 gives the lowdown of exactly what to expect from life there but he has some stories to tell regarding dangerous places to live that would make your hair curl. When you have lived among an indigenous population of 11 major tribes, all who hate each other, you become very good at being careful.

Hey, so am I .. and can probably tell a few stories too. Put us in contact :laugh: Is he a boer or a redneck? If he is a boer, give him a message from me... "one bullet, one boer." :laugh:
 

Freemo

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Hey, so am I .. and can probably tell a few stories too. Put us in contact :laugh: Is he a boer or a redneck? If he is a boer, give him a message from me... "one bullet, one boer." :laugh:

He says he's a redneck, and laughed at your cryptic message.

I take it life in South Africa is somewhat more risky than life in DR.
 

reracked

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Sep 26, 2003
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Flash Movil 3G

Verizon Dominicana offers internet via the celular system.
Called Flash Movil 3G, it is supposed to provide you with speed up to 2mbps.
Here is my experience:
I am using it with a cel phone connected to the computer via a dedicated and costly (3000RD$) USB cable.
The speeds I get are nothing to write home about it...
In the city, I get speeds up to 14.4kB/s, once outside the city, barely 1.5kB/s
which is way less than a dial-up modem!
The cel phones sold here are 1G (old slow system)
The Verizon service is supposedly 3G (recent technology). I seriously doubt that Verizon here in the DR is 3G...
On the other hand you can purchase a PCMCIA card (around 13000RD$ + dedicated cel account) to plug in into your laptop. 3G? speeds? Not a clue.
Internet Flash (ADSL) is great if it works fine. I am living at the end of the phone line, so my speeds are way under what I pay for.
Welcome in paradise...
My two cents.
 

MarkusL1

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May 3, 2004
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I have a PCMCIA card (basically wireless broad band card). Would that work if I get a DR Verizone SIM Card? Do they charge by the minute, data download or flat rate?
 

Robert

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Jan 2, 1999
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dr1.com
I have a PCMCIA card (basically wireless broad band card). Would that work if I get a DR Verizone SIM Card? Do they charge by the minute, data download or flat rate?

The wireless broadband services here are useless, regardless of the provider.
Slow and unreliable. Think dial-up with lots of people sharing the connection :)

Also....

Lots of threads on DR1 dedicated to this subject, maybe 250+.
Use the "search" it's your friend :)
 

DunHill

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Aug 29, 2003
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If he goes in the direction of Cabrera, than (high)speed internet is not really there by wire, search for satellite internet as well, a bit more expensive, but reliable and fast (as in: you get what you pay for)

or send me a PM
 

gamana

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Satellite is good but pricey..... One way to get great sat internet without the astronomical prices of DR retailers (mostly due to import taxes) is to get your box/receiver in the US and bring it in your suitcase, get your connection plan set up overthere and only buy the parabolic antenna in DR.
 

DunHill

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Aug 29, 2003
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Satellite is good but pricey..... One way to get great sat internet without the astronomical prices of DR retailers (mostly due to import taxes) is to get your box/receiver in the US and bring it in your suitcase, get your connection plan set up overthere and only buy the parabolic antenna in DR.

with as common result:

Activated on a satellite that has no footprint in the DR
or
Activated on a spotbeam that has no footprint in the DR
or
A TV dish (receive dish) will be used to transmit (how dominicans that still can do ....) with as result a very unstable connection
and/or
The lnb/buc (transmitter) has not enough power to reach the satellite and need to be replaced (because the USA needs less power to reach the Satellite and uses a smaller dish as well)
and
if you cannot install it yourself you have 2 choices:
1. a handy neighbour or not certified installer , will be cheap
2. a real installer, who will charge you (big big bucks) because you let them install a system, not sold by them

and

for service or other trouble, you have to go to the USA or buy the (expensive) replacement parts in the DR, and since you did not buy your equipment in the DR, nobody will give you any garantee.

But on the other hand , the equipment was cheap.

its a gamble, everything worked out fine, you saved some $
if not, you pay $$$

--==--

and why is equipment more expensive in the DR
A) shipping in the USA, shipping to the DR, shipping insurance
B) customs (and they can play real hard sometimes)
C) garantee*

* special the garantee part is the one what raises the price, most equipment is not designed for use in the tropics (or the reseller in the DR added something to make it better tropical "proof" at cost of $)
When there is really something the reseller has 2 options, send it back to the USA, than he got fuc&^ed by the DR customs if the unit returns and does not have the same serial number, because in the USA the unit was replaced (common and quick way for repairs) and you have to pay FULL duties again !
Second shipping from the DR to the States can be very pricy, specially if you want it quick (FedEx has no prob with bill of more than U$150) and than the transport back what cost $ again as well.

Some resellers have another policy, they add a percentage on the equipment (10-20%) to cover any garantees, if the unit "dies", they will happily replace the unit, and use a 12 gauge to "fix" the broken one.

Arjan
 

Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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www.caribbetech.com
Satellite is good but pricey..... One way to get great sat internet without the astronomical prices of DR retailers (mostly due to import taxes) is to get your box/receiver in the US and bring it in your suitcase, get your connection plan set up overthere and only buy the parabolic antenna in DR.

Why you should not do that:
Parabolic antennas - manufactured in the DR are for television reception. The reflective surface of the dish is not conducive for a reliable satellite receive signal. Yes, I know people do that. I have three people at the moment crying for service to 'make their system work'. One came to our office yesterday with two systems in the back of the camioneta saying please, please, "I've spent so much money on equipment". He went away with his equipment still in the back of his camioneta, as what he bought, twice, does not work here.

Astronomical prices - You will find that a correctly specified satellite service is equivalent to Verizon's High End Business Service. You will find that we now have a master dealer for the Caribbean and Central America in the DR, for three suppliers. You will also find that for equivalent kit and equivalent bandwidth and thruput, the retail prices in the DR is higher than the US, only by the shipping and duties portion, sometimes shipping alone, as this equipment is supposed to be duty free, being computer equipment. Sometimes customs forgets and charge duties anyway. Installation cost is usually on a par with US prices for equivalent installs. Good dealers in the DR work to the same prices than in the US. Equivalency of service and kit, is the issue. We have to use different equipment here, as the satellites are further away. And we have to further heatshield and safeguard equipment.

Service - just four weeks ago, a satellite was 'moved'. If you were working with a reputable dealer, you would have been upgraded and would have suffered little interruption because of this. The customers of reputable dealers are at the moment being repointed to other satellites, which sometimes means other electronics, free of charge. The home diy installations are crying, and we can do nothing about it.

If you have a connection plan set up in the US, who is going to come out and fix, if you have a problem?. If a satellite becomes oversubscribed, (three times this happened over the past year) and you get no signal any longer, will you be able to receive an id on another satellite? Reputable dealers will not work with you, as they do not like to work on incorrectly specified and incorrectly installed and marginally usable equipment.

The reason why there are dealers here in the DR and the Caribbean, is that our circumstances are different than the set of circumstances in the US. That is why reputable suppliers from the US, prefer to work with reputable resellers, and specifically trained and certified installers here, as we understand and can function within our set of circumstances.

These larger systems are not yet one-size-fits-all. They need specification and matching to your requirements. The equipment itself, upon arrival in the DR, is further heatshielded, the installation itself is grounded (even in the DR) and installed to specifications that can withstand a hurricane of 125 miles per hour, as well as tropical conditions, and you get service and guarantees. One customer had his main modem damaged by power three times over the period of three months. He received a replacement in each instance. OK, after that we told him no more, he has to protect his equipment.

There are standards in this industry. You will find the reputable suppliers work to standards. Dishes are grounded, electronics are heatshielded and installed for tropical conditions. Reputable resellers have certification, and is registered at the DR authorities. They have a formally constituted businesses and they never ever use pirated bandwidth.

Yes, I know this is a treatise and I hope some of you have stopped reading .. just one more thing. Yesterday our installers were repointing a dish to another satellite. And could not find it. Turns out all the specifications on this satellite was incorrect. Would you be able to pick up the phone, find an alternative that would work with the specific set of electronics, get an id and point to another satellite, just quickly? I would say that if you did not have good relationships set up with rock-solid suppliers with large and well trained support staff, it would take you weeks to sort this one out. And it happens more often than not.
 
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anitaemma

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Aug 25, 2006
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Does he really needs the ready house ? We should offer him a lot, 3000 sq.m , 60 meters riverside not too far from the seashore and the lines of Verizon are running only couple of hundreds meters on the roadside, if they work........